Introgression of the bmr6 allele in biomass sorghum lines for bioenergy production.

Sorghum bicolor (L.) Moench is a crop that has high potential to be used for bioenergy generation. The objective of this study was to introgression of the bmr6 allele in elite lines of biomass sorghum and to obtain experimental ??brown midrib?? hybrids. Three genetic materials belonging to the Embrapa Maize and Sorghum Breeding Program were used. Two backcross programs were conducted separately, in which the CMSXS170 line was the donor of the bmr6 allele and the CMSXS652 and IS23777 lines were the recurrent ones. Through molecular markers specific for the bmr6 allele, the assisted selection was utilized for the brown midrib characteristic in the BC1F1 and BC2F1 generations. Polymorphic SNP markers were distributed throughout the genome of sorghum to accelerate the recovery of the recurrent genome. After the confirmation of the bmr genotypes, the lines were crossed with line A (female), to obtain the hybrid seeds and evaluated under field conditions. As result, it was possible to perform the introgression of the bmr6 allele in lines of biomass sorghum. The SNPs markers were efficient in identifying individuals with a higher rate of recurrence of the recurrent genome. Experimental "brown midrib" hybrids were obtained and demonstrated satisfactory potential for bioenergy production